4. The original profession of the Kāyasths.
From the above argument it seems legitimate to deduce that the Kāyasths formerly occupied a lower position in Hindu society. The Brāhmans were no doubt jealous of them and, as Dr. Bhattachārya states, would not let them learn Sanskrit.[25] But when India became subject to foreign rulers the Kāyasths readily entered their service, learning the language of their new employers in order to increase their efficiency. Thus they first learnt Persian and then English, and both by Muhammadans and English were employed largely, if not at first almost exclusively, as clerks in the public offices. It must be remembered that there were at this time practically only two other literate castes among Hindus, the Brāhmans and the Banias. The Brāhmans naturally would be for long reluctant to lower their dignity by taking service under foreign masters, whom they regarded as outcaste and impure; while the Banias down to within the last twenty years or so have never cared for education beyond the degree necessary for managing their business. Thus the Kāyasths had at first almost a monopoly of public employment under foreign Governments. It has been seen also that it is only within about the last century that the status of the Kāyasths has greatly risen, and it is a legitimate deduction that the improvement dates from the period when they began to earn distinction and importance under these governments. But they were always a literate caste, and the conclusion is that in former times they discharged duties to which literacy was essential in a comparatively humble sphere. “The earliest reference to the Kāyasths as a distinct caste,” Sir H. Risley states, “occurs in Yājnavalkya, who describes them as writers and village accountants, very exacting in their demands from the cultivators.” The profession of patwāri or village accountant appears to have been that formerly appertaining to the Kāyasth caste, and it is one which they still largely follow. In Bengal it is now stated that Kāyasths of good position object to marry their daughters in the families of those who have served as patwāris or village accountants. Patwāris, one of them said to Sir H. Risley, however rich they may be, are considered as socially lower than other Kāyasths, e.g. Kānungo, Akhauri, Pānde or Bakshi. Thus it appears that the old patwāri Kāyasths are looked down upon by those who have improved their position in more important branches of Government service. Kānungo, as explained, is a sort of head of the patwāris; and Bakshi, a post already noticed as held by a Kāyasth in the Central Provinces, is the Muhammadan office of paymaster.
Similarly Mr. Crooke states that while the higher members of the caste stand well in general repute, the village Lāla (or Kāyasth), who is very often an accountant, is in evil odour for his astuteness and chicanery. In Central India, as already seen, they are Kānungos of Districts and patwāris of villages; and here again Malcolm states that these officials were the oldest settlers, and that the later comers, who held more important posts, did not intermarry with them.[26] In Gujarāt the work of collecting the revenue in the Surat tract was entrusted to Kāyasths. Till 1868, in the English villages, and up to the present time in the Baroda villages, the subdivisional accountants were mostly Kāyasths.[27] In the Central Provinces the bulk of the patwāris in the northern Districts and a large proportion in other Districts outside the Marātha country are Kāyasths. If the Kāyasths were originally patwāris or village accountants, their former low status is fully explained. The village accountant would be a village servant, though an important one, and would be supported like the other village artisans by contributions of grain from the cultivators. This is the manner in which patwāris of the Central Provinces were formerly paid. His status would technically be lower than that of the cultivators, and he might be considered as a Sūdra or a mixed caste.